2008 Programme - Hornby Festival Event Listings

A major force in Canada's creative music community, Hornby Islander, guitarist and bandleader Tony Wilson has an undeniably original musical voice. Each composition of this debut release explores various styles and sonic possibilities. Melancholy melodies, collective noise improvisations, metre shifts and African rhythms stand side by side and combine to give this ensemble a very different and original sound. Tony Wilson will be joined by J.P. Carter (trumpet/electronics), Masa J. Anzai (alto saxophone), Jesse Zubot (violin), Russell Sholberg (bass), Skye Brooks (drums). These musicians are an aggregation of some of the leading young voices of Vancouver's creative music community. This is the debut performance and Canada's only CD release concert of Pearls Before Swine.

". . . one of the best disks I've heard ..."   Downtown Music Gallery, New York

Opening Lawrence Nyberg

Lawrence Nyberg performs instrumental compositions on steel-string guitar in alternate tunings, with directions in Latin, Celtic and North American traditional music.

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Bomba eloquently fuses Latin American and Canadian roots to create a profound blend of danceable Latin rhythm and impeccable improvisations. Bomba's Canadian founders Mario Allende (percussion), Rubim de Toledo (bass) and Chris Andrew (piano) have joined forces with Cuban music giants Emilio Rios (vocals and guitar), Aldo Aquirrer (violin) and Raul Gomez Tabera (drums, timbales). The result of this combination is stunning musical inspiration. Bomba performs at renowned jazz and folk festivals across the country and have been invited to perform at South Korea's top international drumming festivals, headlined at Seattle's Brazilfest and have performed at the Havana International Jazz festival in Cuba. Their latest release combines the classic sounds of Cuba modern Latin-jazz and even swing and North American jazz flavours.

"(Bomba) delivers the hot goods... The players are clearly aware of a broad swath of Latin styles that incorporate rumba, son, salsa and timba and a whole lot more, as well as sprinkles of funk and jazz... this is vital, life-affirming music."   Geoff Chapman - Toronto Star

Opening Reuben Wier

Opening Reuben Wier - Hornby's own Mr. Reuben Wier, a talented guitarist with influences ranging from experimental astro pop to classical, will perform a selection of originals. "Wier has the voice of an angel"   L. Vasilinda, rmt ... "Sounding good"   Bobcat, ringside

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Brazilian virtuosic guitarist, composer, singer, percussionist, multi-instrumentalist and master of ritmos brasilieros, Celso Machado brings joy to his audiences with his subtle mixture of musical inspiration, irresistible rhythm and inspired lunacy. Celso Machado's solo performances transport his audiences through the richness and diversity of Brazilian music, and beyond. Celso's music is rooted in the percussive rhythms, harmonies and spirit of Brazil, reflecting his incurable fascination with other world music traditions. He has gained mastery of a vast array of instruments including: the Arab nay, the southern Italian tamburello, Moroccan guembri, and most recently the African kora. For over thirty years he has performed on concert stages throughout Brazil, Western Europe, Canada, and the United States.

"There are few performers in the world today as versatile and fascinating as Machado. Whether he's leading the audience in a call-and-response percussion number or performing a spry Bossa Nova..., Machado's performances are unerringly awe-inspiring."   Emmet Matheson - Leader-Post

Opening Ken Clark & Friends

Ken Clark has brought down the house for 20 years with his outstanding bass grooves. He has been an integral part of Hornby Island's talented musical community for the past 6 years. Not to be missed.

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If you love fiddle music and kicking up your heels, this is the event for you. Adrian Dolan, one of Canada's great fiddlers, will be heading up a fiddle dance where you will be hear some of the best fiddle music in Canada. In his early teens, Adrian began studying traditional music with Daniel Lapp, played with the BC Fiddle Orchestra and gigged with his own groups playing Irish, Cape Breton and Metis music. Shortly after taking up the accordion at age 17, Adrian began touring full time with The Bills, performing extensively at festivals and theatres throughout the US, Canada and Europe. Their music has earned them two Juno Award nominations and two Western Canadian Music Awards, including Entertainer of the Year.

Dust off those dancing shoes!

No Opening

Photo by Victor Chong

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Out of Vancouver, BC, The Breakmen are winning over audiences across Canada and the American Northwest with contagious stage energy, original melodies, and innovative vocal harmonies. Featuring the singing and songwriting of multi-instrumentalists Archie Pateman, Lee Watson, and Ben Rogalsky, the driving bass of Matt Lawson, and the internationally acclaimed Dobro work of Ivan Rosenberg, The Breakmen blend elements of bluegrass, old-time, blues, and folk music. By fusing old sounds with new and unique flavour, The Breakmen appeal to music lovers, both young and old. As well as receiving national attention from CBC radio and campus radio stations, The Breakmen were recently filmed for an upcoming television series on Canadian roots music.

"To the already long list of Canadians who bleed pure Americana please add The Breakmen. Like their countrymen in The Band before them, they have been known to inspire a bit of the old-time religion with their sublime vocal harmonies."   Nathan Baker - San Francisco Bay Guardian

Opening Ted Tanner

...serves up tasty bite-sized portions of country blues.

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Robert Silverman has reached a level of musical and technical authority that can only be accomplished after years of deep commitment to the instrument and its vast literature. Under the batons of many renowned conductors, he has performed with orchestras on three continents, including the Chicago Symphony, the Sydney Symphony, the BBC (London) Symphony, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, and every major orchestra in Canada. His recording of Liszt's piano music received a Grand Prix du Disque from the Liszt Society of Budapest, while his widely-acclaimed 10-CD recording of all thirty-two Beethoven sonatas was short-listed for a Juno Award. Robert Silverman was named the first winner of the Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award for Keyboard Artistry in recognition of "his high level of artistry, his moving interpretations of a wide range of music...and his commitment and contribution to music in Canada." Robert Silverman was a faculty member at the University of British Columbia for thirty years, served a 5-year term as Director of the School of Music, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters in 2004.

The evening will include selections of Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt.

"One could only marvel at a performance of such thorough conviction. Surely he is one of the country's finest pianists."   Toronto Star

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Snehasish Mozumder is among those few established musicians in India who has mastered the art of playing mandolin. He has blended it perfectly into the style of Hindustani Indian classical music. Coming from a musically oriented family, he started his initial training at the age of four with tabla and then mandolin under the guidance of his grandfather; he then took training under his father and his uncle, all renowned masters. Snehasish has performed many major festivals in India and has toured throughout Europe, the UK, and North America. He is the recipient of Surmani and Jadubhatta Awards. In 2001, Snehasish was invited by Pandit Ravi Shankar to perform for the George Harrison Memorial Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

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"This intelligent, innovative and versatile interpreter supplies new, intensive and always exciting extemporated luminance to some classical Raga compositions."   Academy of Music and Theatre in Hannover

The Alcan Quartet - violinists Laura Andriani and Nathalie Camus, violist Luc Beauchemin, and cellist David Ellis - has developed a reputation for excellence throughout Canada and internationally since its formation over sixteen years ago. The quartet's originality, contagious enthusiasm, unique sonority, and remarkable cohesion have all contributed to its long-term success. The ensemble's list of accomplishments is impressive: close to 1000 concerts; over 100 live radio broadcasts; numerous television appearances; tours throughout North America, Europe, Asia; and a number of commissioned pieces and first performances. The quartet's discography includes major works from Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Dvorak, Debussy, Borodin, and others. These recordings have received adulatory reviews. The quartet won the "Prix Opus, recording of the year" for its CD of Schubert Quartets. The Alcan Quartet is based in Chicoutimi, Québec.

The Alcan Quartet will performing selections of Beethoven, Evangelista, Piazzola, Brandao, Ginastera and Annunziata.

"The Alcan Quartet is well on its way to establishing itself as Canada's national quartet."   Le Devoir

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The Hornby Festival is pleased to present Bernice Friesen and Dr. Gabor Maté as our Authors for the Hornby Reading Series 2008.

Bernice Friesen trained first as a printmaker and painter. She has produced six works of art for the covers of Coteau's Open Eye poetry series. Her fiction and poetry has been published in anthologies and magazines in Canada and Europe. The title story of her first book, The Seasons are Horses (1995), won the Vicky Metcalf Award for Best Young Adult Short Story in Canada. Her book of poetry Sex, Death and Naked Men, came out in 1998 and her first novel, The Book of Beasts, in 2007. The Book of Beasts won the Saskatchewan Book Award for Fiction in 2007 and has received rave reviews in Canada and the United States. Bernice and her family live in Saskatoon and on Hornby Island

Gabor Maté is the bestselling author of When the Body Says No, and Scattered Minds and co-author of Hold On To Your Kids. His by-line can often been seen in the Globe and Mail, for articles and commentary ranging from health to politics. He is a dynamic, effective and inspiring speaker and seminar leader. He is presently staff physician at a medical clinic in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. His patients are people with drug addiction, HIV and related problems. Gabor will be reading from his fourth book, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction, which was published in February, 2008.

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Festival 2008 is thrilled to present Glimpses of Heaven (67 min), a documentary film from Michael Oved Dayan's.

Glimpses of Heaven is Michael Oved Dayan's award winning directorial debut. Hailed as a breakthrough work that affirms the power of the human spirit, the documentary film masterfully weaves three profoundly personal journeys into one intimate narrative revealing that openness to the mystery of living truly enables the miraculous to take form. It reveals the lives of three men whose childhood trauma has lead them to artistic triumph. Glimpses of Heaven unites nature, spirituality, creativity, and imagination in a life-affirming symphony. This film tells the story of renowned Hornby Island potter, Wayne Ngan, visual artist, George Littlechild and composer, Peter Gary.

"an unsparing and poetic meditation on grief, creation, and survival - fierce and original enough to challenge, invigorate and change the way we think about trauma and the human spirit."   Rebecca Godfrey, award-winning and best-selling author

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Crazy Orchestra - a two-session childrens' workshop
Back and extended by popular demand

For children aged 3-12 years
Note: Crazy Orchestra is a childrens' event and one adult must accompany the children (at no extra charge) and also that Crazy Orchestra is a two sesssion workshop spread over two days.

Enroll your children in Crazy Orchestra, a workshop spread over two days, and let them discover the musician and more within. Crazy Orchestra is about bringing children together and allowing the imaginative and creative, textural and tangible, real and fantasized elements of sound and rhythm lead them to a playground of potential, fun and mystery. What results depends upon the group itself, but is certain to run from wild to tender, and will bring out a bit of each child's creative self. This children's workshop will be led by music therapist Scott White. "Emotionally or spiritually, this can truly be life transforming. I have witnessed it many times, and am happy if I have served well as a facilitator."

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